scobb Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Having seen one of these in the classifieds here for $2800 I've taken a gamble on buying one of these. Primarily this is to modernise my Arcam AVR300 which is pre-room correction and HDMI. I needed a one box solution and had been toying with the idea of the T758 v3 however, even though the Arcam has had no difficulty in powering my Dali Ikon 7's, Vokal 2, Sub and 4 On Walls, I was concerned moving from the Arcam 90w per channel amp to a 60w NAD . I feel I'm probably making a sideways move in terms of amplification but hoping that the Dirac room correction will be an advantage sound wise and HDMI switching is a nice bonus. Does anyone here have experience with NAD vs Arcam? I wanted to go with Arcam again but having purchased an Oppo 205 when they announced they were closing down I still want the option of using the 7.1 analogue out which the Arcam's don't offer (yes I know I can't use Dirac with this option but this gives me a choice and the opportunity to compare). Anyway the main point of this post it to ask if I should purchase the full version of Dirac or is the version that comes with the receiver good enough? Also, can someone point me in the direction of an informative thread/forum that can help/instruct me on how best to implement Dirac? Finally the NAD t777 v3 offers me the opportunity of running two sub woofers, would this be beneficial? Dali Ikon subs go for about $350 now so not much more of an investment but placement might be hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, scobb said: Anyway the main point of this post it to ask if I should purchase the full version of Dirac or is the version that comes with the receiver good enough? The NAD version is limited to 500 Hz. For USD100, the full version lifts the limit and improves particularly music. Also suggest getting a better calibrated usb microphone e.g. Umik-1 and a proper microphone stand e.g. Swamp Industries stand (out of stock at the moment). 2 minutes ago, scobb said: Also, can someone point me in the direction of an informative thread/forum that can help/instruct me on how best to implement Dirac? There is no Dirac run forum, but there are users on various forums eg. AVSForum which are based on on a particular brand and model e.g. NAD T758V3 which are very long; others on T777V3, Arcam etc... And also others on Dirac for 2 channel. Out of the box, Dirac is easy to use; just follow the instructions and you will get good results. You can then later tweak, join a forum etc.. 23 minutes ago, scobb said: Finally the NAD t777 v3 offers me the opportunity of running two sub woofers, would this be beneficial? Dali Ikon subs go for about $350 now so not much more of an investment but placement might be hard. 2 subs will reduce the bass variation in the room. Suggest reading this mini DSP - using multiple subs article; refers to mini DSP DDRC-88A but concept applies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 I seem to have a glut of speakers so I'm looking at adding two more to my AV system making a 9.2 system or 7.2.2. Can I simply use my Arcam Alpha P10 (I have in classifieds but may keep if the answer is yes) rated at 100w per channel where as the NAD is rated at 80 watts per channel (ie does the differing power make a difference and I don't know/understand to compare the gain of either). The alternative is buying an 80 watt NAD power amp but that comes out at 6 times the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irek Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Hi, if you are watching Dolby Atmos movies than 7.2.2 is much better than 9.2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 Just now, Irek said: Hi, if you are watching Dolby Atmos movies than 7.2.2 is much better than 9.2 That's probably what I'm looking to do but need to work out how (and cost) to put in ceiling speakers where there is no wiring and a very tight space from the ceiling to the upstairs floor. I was thinking I could use the Arcam to power these or even the fronts. I'm just not sure if it's ok to miss match amps with different watts and, maybe (I don't know) different gains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irek Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Well, I would say the 7.1 analog output in Oppo is mostly for surround music. I would prefer to use HDMI for dolby atmos. Arcam vs Nad is rather sideway move. Personally I would go with 2k - 3k AVR with preouts + 5ch power amp. Once you make a cut in ceiling you can see more clearly how to run speaker cables. Try not to cut timber ceiling joists/upper floor joists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 13 minutes ago, Irek said: Well, I would say the 7.1 analog output in Oppo is mostly for surround music. I would prefer to use HDMI for dolby atmos. Arcam vs Nad is rather sideway move. Personally I would go with 2k - 3k AVR with preouts + 5ch power amp. Once you make a cut in ceiling you can see more clearly how to run speaker cables. Try not to cut timber ceiling joists/upper floor joists. I think you miss understand the question. I have a 7.2 nad avr t777 v3 with pre outs. I want to know if I can use the arcam power amp to make it a 9.2 capable amp or if I would have to buy a matching nad power amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) Can use any decent power amp for the last channel: back, height1, height2 (you can select). Any mismatch in volume can be corrected in Dirac Live. Edited March 25, 2019 by Snoopy8 Added decent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Snoopy8 to the rescue again! thank you, saved me $800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irek Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 I see. I think Arcam power amp should work well with any AVR including Nad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, scobb said: I think you miss understand the question. I have a 7.2 nad avr t777 v3 with pre outs. I want to know if I can use the arcam power amp to make it a 9.2 capable amp or if I would have to buy a matching nad power amp? Just to understand your 9.2 config scobb ; do you mean standard 7.1 with a dsp mode like pl2z or EARS ? The NAD doesn't have provision for wides with atmos or dts-x afaik that is much more upmarket .. The NAD 758 has restrictions on running configs with the pre outs and power amps so make sure your ok especially if you want 7.1.4 with the 777 …. If your happy with 2 ceilings things are easier as Snoopy said Those other configurations are more accessible with dirac models like the audio control AVR7 but at a cost ..That 777 is a steal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobb Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 I'm not sure what pl2z or EARS are. I'm thing 7.1.2 I think. 2x front,1 center, 2 side, 2 rear and 2 ceiling speakers. Perhaps, if I go wild, 4 ceiling or 2 extra mid sides (maybe these would be wides?) (just because I have two spare matching speakers). Unfortunately for me my T777 v3 is has a feedback problem when both HDMI and analogue are connected at the same time, however, Convoy have been helpful and have the unit at the moment to fix the issue (apparently waiting on a part (new module?)) and I should have it back in 2 to 3 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 4 hours ago, scobb said: I'm not sure what pl2z or EARS are. I'm thing 7.1.2 I think. 2x front,1 center, 2 side, 2 rear and 2 ceiling speakers. Perhaps, if I go wild, 4 ceiling or 2 extra mid sides (maybe these would be wides?) (just because I have two spare matching speakers). Unfortunately for me my T777 v3 is has a feedback problem when both HDMI and analogue are connected at the same time, however, Convoy have been helpful and have the unit at the moment to fix the issue (apparently waiting on a part (new module?)) and I should have it back in 2 to 3 weeks. Were going too a different way of describing things with the new object audio codecs like atmos scobb. Before you would have 5.1 or 7.1 to describe the channels . Now you may have 5.1.2 to describe the main channels and the .2 describing the 2 ceiling speakers So 9.2 isn't a standard discrete description. But your 777 has at least EARS which applies a dsp mode to the discrete signal ; so if your decoding a 5.1 channel signal it will expand the signal to 7.1 which you may or may not like ; that's your choice. Front wides for atmos is reserved for upmarket avr's and pre pro's ; they are designed for better panning of the front channels which are suited to the ears frontal acuity . An avr like the denon x8500 is one example where you can configure your speakers like this ; not cheap of course https://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/dolby-atmos-beyond-7-1-4-part-5/ Many avr's have processing power to handle 7.1.4 as many discs do so your room size should determine how many ceiling speakers to fit..You will also notice you have dolby surround upmixer and its dts equivalent for your regular non object blurays/dvds ;the dolby one has restrictions for front wides but that wont affect you .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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